Lord Owen says Sir Menzies is too old to lead the Liberals

In an interview with the Parliamentary Monitor magazine, Lord Owen, 68, said Sir Menzies was, at 65, "only a couple of years younger than me".

He suggested Lib Dem environment spokesman Chris Huhne, who is 52, would be a better choice as leader.

Lord Owen was joint leader of the SDP-Liberal Alliance from 1983 to 1987.

"He [Sir Menzies] should be replaced by a young Turk like Chris Huhne, who has produced some very good ideas on the environment," Lord Owen said.

"It was a thoroughly good thing for him to challenge for the leadership."

Lord Owen also said a Lib Dem-Conservative pact could not be ruled out after the next generation.

"If Cameron has the largest number of MPs but not an outright majority, I hope he can deal with the Liberal Democrats and come to an arrangement," Lord Owen added.

"I think people can see a lot of Conservative policies are acceptable now."